R v Te Kahu CA492/04

This appeal was concerned with a ruling made by Laurenson J in the Gisborne High Court. The appellants face charges of murder and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. They sought leave to appeal against a judgment of Laurenson J which addressed four applications: by the Crown to determine the admissibility of the intercepted conversations of the appellants; by the Crown seeking directions as to the mode of evidence to be adopted at trial in relation to a proposed Crown witness, Mr Kingi Hamlin; by all appellants for an order that the trial be heard in a city other than Gisborne; and by the appellant Mr Rangi Tamati for a discharge under s 347 of the Crimes Act on the murder count. The applications for leave to appeal were confined to the rulings made by the Judge under s 344A (upholding the admissibility of the intercept evidence) and under s 322 (dismissing the appellants’ application for a change of venue). The appeal against the admissibility of the intercept evidence was dismissed. The court held that the warrant was valid and the evidence collected pursuant to the warrant would be admissible. The application for a change of venue was allowed. The court held that the appellants' application should be allowed. The application for a stay was dismissed.